Must Watch: 'The Pilot' - A Full-Length Documentary on Amaury Pierron's Dramatic 2022 Season

May 25, 2023
by COMMENCAL BIKES & SKIS  

Here is the official film of 2022 DH World Cup Champion, Amaury Pierron. By watching - THE PILOT - you will learn about Amaury’s story and the road he travelled to win the World Cup DH overall for a second time, making 2022 his best season yet!

The movie takes a deep dive into his fun but extremely focused and performance driven character, looking back on his career so far, and reflecting in detail on his dramatic 2022 season.

THE PILOT

bigquotesI've always loved watching athletes’ documentaries and always thought it would be great to do one someday. It was when Sleeper Collective were filming me on the DH World Cups last year that we decided to go for a longer format. It became an important project for me.Amaury Pierron


THE PILOT
THE PILOT

THE PILOT

Even though Amaury Pierron is one of the fastest downhill racers on the planet and one of the most famous names in the sport, he opens up about his struggles and reveals some of his darkest moments on the journey from success to potentially career-ending injuries and back to the top step.

THE PILOT

In this video, his teammates were also asked to give their perspective - two-time World Champion Myriam Nicole, and World Cup winner Thibaut Dapréla - who offer amazing personal insight of what is behind the big screens at the World Cup events or riders’ social media channels.

THE PILOT also brings the cliché of the racing rollercoaster to a personal level. With all ups and downs he went through we get to see Amaury’s everyday life: his home, his gym and finally an awesome COMMENCAL test track in Pascuet, Catalunya. All that to see and understand how much of a hard working athlete he is and make the viewer understand the complexity of DH racing.

THE PILOT
THE PILOT

THE PILOT


Rider: Amaury Pierron
Film & edit: Sleeper Collective

Author Info:
commencal-bikes-skis avatar

Member since Sep 14, 2009
427 articles

111 Comments
  • 100 0
 Such a beast of a rider. It'll be very interesting to see how Jordan and Jackson stack up against the likes of Amaury. This DH season is gonna be lit.
  • 8 0
 Ye thats what i'v been wondering too man! Can't wait to see how it all unravels!
  • 21 1
 If it ever starts!
  • 7 2
 @BiNARYBiKE: Of the past few years, this is the most likely race season to ever start.
  • 5 0
 @vinay: I'm just saying it's starting so late and has so few races... sad.
  • 77 3
 53 seconds in and I already miss Rob...
  • 20 0
 Rob is the best. It won’t be the same without him.
  • 6 0
 Just hearing his voice makes my heart start racing. DH is amazing to watch, and he has been a huge part of that.
  • 1 0
 Look at the time!
  • 40 0
 Sleeper collective should produce a whole "drive to survive" series for mountain biking
  • 5 14
flag vinay FL (May 26, 2023 at 4:11) (Below Threshold)
 "Drive to survive", what's that? "You die if you pull over"? Sounds like someone ended up in the wrong neighborhood.
  • 39 0
 Love watching this guy ride. Such an animal.
  • 24 0
 When he’s on he walks the knife’s edge of goin fast as heck or blowing up spectacularly better than anyone.
  • 10 0
 @BamaBiscuits: For sure. It's like this crazy blend of amazing technical ability and mental commitment.
  • 10 0
 @BamaBiscuits: haha love him, he’s my current favourite rider on the Circuit. He’s got everything but what I like about him most is what sets him apart from the competition is he’s willing to go crazier than everyone else. Big fan of Bruni too,
  • 6 0
 @MT36: Flow state.
His focus is pretty intense. Super chill guy too.
  • 5 0
 love watching him ride, and laugh. I kinda wish some of this footage made it:
cathro edit after snowshoe 2019 @9:00 www.youtube.com/watch?v=t34aKXz3jDE
then the aftermath @ 22:49 www.youtube.com/watch?v=K11q7vCGML4
  • 3 0
 @snomaster: We stood and chatted for quite a bit at the MSA round in 2022 - watching Finn smash it. At the last round before covid we stood with his parents, both brothers, and Max Commencal just casually shooting the shit. I find pretty much all of the riders or team owners/staff to be generally awesome people. I have a ton of footage and sound bytes just laying around. Might be time to youtube the behind the scenes lol.
  • 27 0
 That’s like over an hour long.. I’m just gonna wait until I go to work to watch the whole thing lol
  • 21 1
 Only 33 minutes into this epic work-productivity-killer. Super well made film!!
  • 34 0
 That's a long time to be in the bathroom at work
  • 3 0
 @Dogl0rd: Nobody is keeping tabs on me. I'm a pro.
  • 10 0
 @Dogl0rd: I can't feel my legs, I have no legs
  • 6 0
 @mchartier3: keep sitting, that means you are very close to enlightenment
  • 4 0
 @Dogl0rd: The boss makes a dollar. I make a dime. That is why I poop on company time.
  • 1 0
 @mchartier3: comment gold!
  • 19 0
 Jean Girard to Ricky Bobby: The Amaury Pierron Story
  • 14 0
 Such an epic season. Downhill has been a absolute treat in the last 5 years.
  • 10 0
 I'm always most excited to watch this man's runs. Absolutely mind blowing when he's on the top of his game.
  • 9 0
 '22 was my first year following WC DH racing and it was amazing, Amaury is an absolute beast
  • 10 0
 That was fantastic.
  • 5 0
 Wow. Awesome filming and editing! That was amazing! We’ll done Sleeper crew! I agree with the previous comment. We need this but if we could cover the top 10 riders. Phwaor, that would be sick.
  • 4 0
 Well done. Seems as though racing formats are beginning to understand what it takes to elevate their respective sports. By and large, simply watching a bicycle go down a dirt path or car/bike go around a predetermine path over and over or etc... can get boring for many. By providing a behind-the-scenes look and adding that personal connection to the teams and athletes that participate in these racing series is what really draws people in. Drive to Survive and what it done for F1 is a prime example of that.
  • 6 0
 What a great film, it made me appreciate how awesome it was/is to listen to Rob Warner call World Cup races.
  • 4 0
 Mrs Buick doing a ver good job! Congratulations!

Max comment on Amaury at Minute 9:30 shows the best how good he must be. Knowing Max hax worked with the best of the best since 1990
  • 5 0
 The riding montage from 11:30 to 13:30 is an absolute treat and clinic. It's rare to see such a combination of speed, precision, and style.
  • 1 0
 Man this was Good! Dudes a beast! Great job by the editors also. Gotta say though, this made me miss Rob even more! cant believe discovery couldn't make that work! Hopefully a year in these chump executives figure out what they bought and make it work!!
  • 3 0
 Aumaury Pierron has really reached the next level of bikeation. You know, if this DH thing doesn't work, he always has his rap career to fall back on.
  • 4 4
 Amaury is the absolute fastest DH racer in the world I think. The fact that he wrestles with fairly common things like injury and confidence makes him super relatable as well. Loic super fast too but he's a boring (but fast) robot. Amaury is way more human, hope to see more from him this year. THE BEST!
  • 5 0
 Animal Pierron
  • 17 17
 Good film, but without expecting something higher intellectually, letting those speak their own language could have been a good idea.
"Yeah but you know, people don't read subtitles 'cos they just don't, especially anglo-saxons 'cos they want everything at their convenience and tastes".
_ hum, OK.
  • 13 5
 English is the current international standard language. Here the producers wanted not only show a movie for french speakers but also all over the world. So yeah, most of the world appreciate the fact it is in english not french.
  • 19 0
 @franciscof40: I would prefere if they generally let them speak their own language and just put subtitles. I dont want to hear a simplifyed answer just because someone doesnt know how to put a good point across in English rather than his own language.
  • 3 1
 @RockCrawler: Subtitles were probably the primary way for me as a young kid (living in The Netherlands) to learn English. You watch what you want to watch and the subtitles help fill the gaps. I suppose people in English speaking countries do learn French at school so with subtitles as an aid they won't be missing anything. If people can't get along with subtitles, how are they ever going to watch the news when people from Japan, Ukraine etc are being interviewed?
  • 10 2
 he said putain a few times though
  • 4 2
 @vinay: news from abroad are not subtitled but dubbed most of the time, which is awful and quite insulting I'd say. France is quite good at this unfortunately.
It can't be worse than the "remade" movies that the US do just because the US market and public is not open to foreign movies.
  • 5 0
 @franciscof40: No, I'd rather have them speak in their mother tongue with English subtitles.
  • 2 0
 In Norco's series currently rolling out with William Robert, he speaks French the whole time and they put English subtitles on it, even though they are an "english language company" you would say. Give those videos some props for it if thats what you'd like to see more of.
  • 1 0
 @franciscof40: because portuguese movies in portuguese are only made for Portugueses?
Pffff...
  • 1 1
 Now that I've watched this I don't think English was the reason this wasn't very deep.

The most shallow commentary was from the media girl who seems to be a native English speaker. Everything she said was like "they are are racers and they do everything they can to win"

I think the simple language helped to move along the chosen narrative of the filmmaker. It wasn't designed as an insightful think-piece
  • 4 0
 This looks class boys, gonna sit down and watch with a brew later!
  • 2 0
 It's Friday TC, crack a tinny lad.
  • 1 0
 Gives for another 1h with other riders words about Armaury, more tech about how he prepares and it´s daily life.. how did he start MTBiking.. more tech about bikes ans stuff...
  • 3 0
 Sleeper Co just get it. Homework gets done, and they execute brilliantly. Keep up the good work boys.
  • 1 0
 Great film. I just wish the producer had the balls to include the full uncut headcam of Amaury's winning run at Fort William. They got to the half way point then edited in trackside shots.
  • 2 0
 My manhood has never been smaller than watching the fps footage of ft william
  • 1 0
 i'm fully engorged over here. love it!
  • 5 5
 Yer wan Anna added nothing to that great video, generic comments that could have applied to anyone. If you don't ride a bike then you don't really know what you're talking about
  • 2 0
 Such a great movie! I really enjoyed discovering all the mental game...and the behibd the secene episods! Go Amaury, go!
  • 3 0
 Kudos to Glen Thomson, that was sick.
  • 1 0
 What about Nathan Shandro? If I recall correctly he did start a WC season but got injured. Did he ever return?
  • 1 0
 Ethan Shandro, and he never returned to high level racing following long lasting effects from a concussion.
  • 2 0
 Can't wait to put him on my fantasy DH team!
  • 2 1
 That was great. Amaury is beast. Shows you what it takes to win. Scary stuff. Can't wait for racing.
  • 2 0
 Loved the fort bill run pov/drone, and La Marseillaise
  • 1 0
 All this time I'd been saying LOYK but thanks to this movie I now know it's LEWIK
  • 1 0
 And just for finish, last word: a little n*zi joke in case the n*gga joke wasn't enought last time
  • 1 0
 that helmet is a very effective clickbait.
  • 1 0
 Im so stoked for this season!
  • 2 1
 Awesome work!! Makes me wanna go ride. Amuary is a weapon!
  • 1 1
 I am very curious about the vest he wears. I assume its to streamline his torso to be more aerodynamic but that's a guess.
  • 1 0
 That, plus the huge pad protecting his spine
  • 3 0
 You talking about the series leader vest?
  • 1 0
 @Assclapp: Maybe? I didn't know that was a thing.
  • 1 0
 I'm so excited for WC DH after watching this.
  • 1 0
 Unreal. Psyched for the upcoming season. Love these documentary films!
  • 10 10
 I have a feeling Jackson is going to kill it this year.
  • 4 2
 Looking at Jordan William’s start to the season, he’ll be right there with him.
Below threshold threads are hidden







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv42 0.060902
Mobile Version of Website